Back Pain VA Rating

VA's fiscal year 2024 Annual Benefits Report counts 1,611,188 service-connected ratings for lumbosacral or cervical strain, the diagnostic code for back and neck strain. Only tinnitus, limited knee flexion and sciatic nerve paralysis appear more often. Most of those ratings, and most ratings for other back diagnoses, turn on one number: how far your spine bends forward when the C&P examiner measures it.

The General Rating Formula in 38 CFR § 4.71a runs that measurement against three thresholds, 85, 60 and 30 degrees, plus ankylosis (a spine fixed in place). There is no 30 percent level for the low back. The schedule jumps from 20 to 40 percent, which at the rates effective December 1, 2025 (the 2026 rates) is the difference between $356.66 and $795.84 a month for a veteran with no dependents. Every measurement is rounded to the nearest five degrees, so a reading of 32 degrees counts as 30 and lands at 40 percent, while 33 counts as 35 and stays at 20.

The single bend is not the whole story. Pain, flare-ups and repeated use count too, a herniated disc can be rated on incapacitating episodes, and nerve problems in the legs are rated separately. I walk through each, then the exam, the common denial reasons and the secondary claims a back rating supports.

TL;DR

• The low and mid back (the thoracolumbar spine) is rated under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, DC 5235 through DC 5243. The neck is rated separately.
• Forward flexion thresholds: 10% above 60 and up to 85 degrees, 20% above 30 and up to 60 degrees, 40% at 30 degrees or less. 50% and 100% require unfavorable ankylosis.
• The exam has to account for pain, repeated use and flare-ups. If you are not in a flare on exam day, the examiner should ask about your flares and estimate the extra loss (Sharp v. Shulkin).
• A herniated disc that compresses or irritates a nerve root (DC 5243) can be rated on incapacitating episodes instead, but only with bed rest prescribed by a physician.
• Nerve findings are rated separately under Note (1). Leg radiculopathy is the condition most often claimed secondary to the back at the Board.
• Across 77,827 decided Board rulings on lumbar spine conditions from 2021 to 2026, 23.0% were granted, 26.8% denied and 50.2% remanded. A ruling is one issue the Board decided in one decision; one decision often rules on several issues. Half of the decided rulings were remands, and the grant rate is 1.7 points below the Board-wide 24.7%.

Back pain VA rating criteria under 38 CFR 4.71a

VA does not rate back pain on a pain scale. It rates the diagnosed spine condition under the General Rating Formula, which applies "with or without symptoms such as pain (whether or not it radiates), stiffness, or aching in the area of the spine affected by residuals of injury or disease." Here is the formula as it reads in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) in October 2026, with the rating after each level.

Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine: 100

Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine: 50

Unfavorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine; or, forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine 30 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine: 40

Forward flexion of the cervical spine 15 degrees or less; or, favorable ankylosis of the entire cervical spine: 30

Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 60 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 15 degrees but not greater than 30 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine not greater than 120 degrees; or, the combined range of motion of the cervical spine not greater than 170 degrees; or, muscle spasm or guarding severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis: 20

Forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 60 degrees but not greater than 85 degrees; or, forward flexion of the cervical spine greater than 30 degrees but not greater than 40 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the thoracolumbar spine greater than 120 degrees but not greater than 235 degrees; or, combined range of motion of the cervical spine greater than 170 degrees but not greater than 335 degrees; or, muscle spasm, guarding, or localized tenderness not resulting in abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour; or, vertebral body fracture with loss of 50 percent or more of the height: 10

The six notes under the formula carry as much weight as the levels.

Note (1): Evaluate any associated objective neurologic abnormalities, including, but not limited to, bowel or bladder impairment, separately, under an appropriate diagnostic code.

Note (2): (See also Plate V.) For VA compensation purposes, normal forward flexion of the cervical spine is zero to 45 degrees, extension is zero to 45 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 45 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 80 degrees. Normal forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine is zero to 90 degrees, extension is zero to 30 degrees, left and right lateral flexion are zero to 30 degrees, and left and right lateral rotation are zero to 30 degrees. The combined range of motion refers to the sum of the range of forward flexion, extension, left and right lateral flexion, and left and right rotation. The normal combined range of motion of the cervical spine is 340 degrees and of the thoracolumbar spine is 240 degrees. The normal ranges of motion for each component of spinal motion provided in this note are the maximum that can be used for calculation of the combined range of motion.

Note (3): In exceptional cases, an examiner may state that because of age, body habitus, neurologic disease, or other factors not the result of disease or injury of the spine, the range of motion of the spine in a particular individual should be considered normal for that individual, even though it does not conform to the normal range of motion stated in Note (2). Provided that the examiner supplies an explanation, the examiner's assessment that the range of motion is normal for that individual will be accepted.

Note (4): Round each range of motion measurement to the nearest five degrees.

Note (5): For VA compensation purposes, unfavorable ankylosis is a condition in which the entire cervical spine, the entire thoracolumbar spine, or the entire spine is fixed in flexion or extension, and the ankylosis results in one or more of the following: difficulty walking because of a limited line of vision; restricted opening of the mouth and chewing; breathing limited to diaphragmatic respiration; gastrointestinal symptoms due to pressure of the costal margin on the abdomen; dyspnea or dysphagia; atlantoaxial or cervical subluxation or dislocation; or neurologic symptoms due to nerve root stretching. Fixation of a spinal segment in neutral position (zero degrees) always represents favorable ankylosis.

Note (6): Separately evaluate disability of the thoracolumbar and cervical spine segments, except when there is unfavorable ankylosis of both segments, which will be rated as a single disability.

Three notes shape most claims. Note (1) is why one back claim often becomes several ratings: radiculopathy in a leg gets its own code, and so do bowel or bladder problems, such as those from cauda equina syndrome (compression of the nerves in the lower spinal canal). Note (3) lets an examiner call a smaller range normal for you, but only with an explanation. Note (6) rates the neck and the thoracolumbar spine as separate disabilities.

"Thoracolumbar" means the thoracic spine (upper and mid back) and the lumbar spine (low back) together, so upper back pain is measured on the same scale as low back pain.

Which diagnostic code applies

Every back diagnosis in the list below uses the same formula. The code changes; the measurement rules do not.

• DC 5235: vertebral fracture or dislocation
• DC 5236: sacroiliac injury and weakness
• DC 5237: lumbosacral or cervical strain
• DC 5238: spinal stenosis
• DC 5239: spondylolisthesis or segmental instability
• DC 5240: ankylosing spondylitis
• DC 5241: spinal fusion
• DC 5242: degenerative arthritis, degenerative disc disease other than intervertebral disc syndrome
• DC 5243: intervertebral disc syndrome

Two of these need a closer look. Ankylosing spondylitis is a diagnosis, not a finding of ankylosis, so it rates on your measurements unless the spine is actually fixed. And DC 5243 has a narrow entry rule, covered in the disc section below.

Lumbosacral strain and ankylosing spondylitis

Lumbosacral strain is the lower-back strain diagnosis listed under DC 5237. Your percentage follows the spine formula, including measured movement, muscle spasm or guarding, and qualifying ankylosis. The word strain does not establish a fixed percentage. Describe what happens during repeated use and flares so your examination reflects more than a single movement on a good day.

Ankylosing spondylitis has its own code, DC 5240, within that same formula. The diagnosis does not by itself establish ankylosis, meaning fixation of the spine. Your findings must show the movement loss or fixation required by the applicable level. If your neck is involved, see the cervical-spine criteria; distinct neurological abnormalities are addressed separately when supported.

Source: 38 CFR § 4.71a, DCs 5237 and 5240 and the spine formula (opens in a new tab).

VA rating chart for back range of motion

Under Note (2), normal motion of the low and mid back is 90 degrees of forward flexion, 30 of extension, 30 of lateral flexion each way and 30 of rotation each way, 240 degrees combined. Here is how the levels line up, with the monthly payment for a veteran with no dependents at the rates effective December 1, 2025.

• 10 percent ($180.42): forward flexion above 60 and up to 85 degrees, combined motion above 120 and up to 235 degrees, or the spasm, tenderness or fracture findings in the formula.
• 20 percent ($356.66): forward flexion above 30 and up to 60 degrees, combined motion of 120 degrees or less, or spasm or guarding that causes an abnormal gait or spinal contour.
• 40 percent ($795.84): forward flexion of 30 degrees or less, or favorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
• 50 percent ($1,132.90): unfavorable ankylosis of the entire thoracolumbar spine.
• 100 percent ($3,938.58): unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine.

10 percent: forward flexion 85 degrees or less

The 10 percent level starts once flexion measures 85 degrees or less after rounding, so a reading of 87 counts as 85. The fracture trigger needs no flexion number: a healed compression fracture from a hard parachute landing or a vehicle accident can carry 10 percent even after motion comes back, but only if the imaging that shows the height loss is in your file.

20 percent: forward flexion 60 degrees or less, or an abnormal gait or contour

The spasm trigger is something the examiner sees, not a measurement: muscle spasm or guarding "severe enough to result in an abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour such as scoliosis, reversed lordosis, or abnormal kyphosis." If the report records it, that supports 20 percent whatever the goniometer says, so ask that it be written down.

40 percent: forward flexion 30 degrees or less

Thirty degrees is one third of VA's 90-degree normal range: from standing, you can bend forward only a third of the way. This is the biggest step among the motion levels, $439.18 a month more than 20 percent for a veteran with no dependents, which is why the exam's handling of pain and repeated use matters so much near the 30-degree line.

50 and 100 percent: unfavorable ankylosis

Both require the whole segment to be fixed in flexion or extension and to cause at least one problem Note (5) lists, such as difficulty walking because of a limited line of vision. Both are rare. For most veterans the practical ceiling from motion alone is 40 percent, and more compensation comes from incapacitating episodes or separately rated nerve findings.

Pain, flare-ups and repeated use

One bend on exam day is not the full rating picture. Three regulations and three decisions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims set what the exam has to capture.

38 CFR § 4.40 says functional loss "may be due to pain, supported by adequate pathology and evidenced by the visible behavior of the claimant undertaking the motion," and that "a part which becomes painful on use must be regarded as seriously disabled."

38 CFR § 4.45 directs the rater to weakened movement, excess fatigability, incoordination and pain on movement, among other factors, and treats the lumbar vertebrae as a group of minor joints.

38 CFR § 4.59 ends with a testing instruction: "The joints involved should be tested for pain on both active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing and, if possible, with the range of the opposite undamaged joint."

DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995). As the Court later summarized it, a joints exam that fails to consider the §§ 4.40 and 4.45 factors is inadequate, and the examiner's view on whether pain could significantly limit function should, if feasible, be stated as the added range-of-motion loss due to pain on use or during flare-ups.

Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016). In a knee case, the Court held that the last sentence of § 4.59 is a requirement: the exam must include that testing (pain on active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, and of the opposite undamaged joint where possible) whenever it can be done. The Court left it to medical professionals to say whether a given test can be performed on the joint at issue.

Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). When the exam does not happen during a flare, the examiner has to ask about your flares (how often, how long, how severe and what you lose during them) and estimate the added loss from all the evidence, including what you report, or explain why that cannot be done. The examiner and the Board do not have to accept flare reports that conflict with other reliable evidence.

Here is how that plays out. Suppose your first bend measures 65 degrees, the 10 percent range, and after repeated motion pain and fatigue stop you at 55. An exam that records the 55 gives the rater a basis for 20 percent. An exam that records only the first bend, or notes "pain" without saying how much motion it costs, leaves nothing to rate, and so does a flare opinion that says the loss cannot be estimated without watching a flare when the examiner never asked about your flares.

Degenerative disc disease, bulging discs and IVDS

One line in the disc codes trips up many claims. DC 5243, intervertebral disc syndrome (IVDS), is assigned "only when there is disc herniation with compression and/or irritation of the adjacent nerve root; assign diagnostic code 5242 for all other disc diagnoses." A bulging disc, or degenerative disc disease without that nerve root involvement, goes under DC 5242 and is rated on motion through the General Rating Formula. See degenerative disc disease and herniated disc for those diagnoses.

IVDS under DC 5243 is the one back code with two rating methods. VA uses whichever "results in the higher evaluation when all disabilities are combined under § 4.25." The second method counts incapacitating episodes over the past 12 months.

With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 6 weeks during the past 12 months: 60

With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 4 weeks but less than 6 weeks during the past 12 months: 40

With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least 2 weeks but less than 4 weeks during the past 12 months: 20

With incapacitating episodes having a total duration of at least one week but less than 2 weeks during the past 12 months: 10

Note (1): For purposes of evaluations under diagnostic code 5243, an incapacitating episode is a period of acute signs and symptoms due to intervertebral disc syndrome that requires bed rest prescribed by a physician and treatment by a physician.

Note (2): If intervertebral disc syndrome is present in more than one spinal segment, provided that the effects in each spinal segment are clearly distinct, evaluate each segment on the basis of incapacitating episodes or under the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine, whichever method results in a higher evaluation for that segment.

The words that decide these claims are "bed rest prescribed by a physician." Days you spent flat on the floor on your own do not count, however bad they were. Current evidence does not favor bed rest either: a Cochrane review of ten randomized trials found that people with acute low back pain may get small benefits in pain relief and function from advice to stay active rather than advice to rest in bed, and that people with sciatica saw little or no difference between the two (Dahm and colleagues, 2010). So do not assume your records show prescribed bed rest. If a flare does put you down and your physician prescribes bed rest, make sure the note records the prescription, the treatment and the dates, because the rater counts weeks.

The 60 percent level is the only back rating above 40 percent that does not require ankylosis. For most veterans the motion formula plus separately rated nerve findings is still the better path; keep the IVDS evidence if your facts support it.

How to prove a back condition is service connected

Direct service connection means the evidence shows your back condition was incurred in service (38 CFR § 3.303). In practice that takes three things, and for backs each one has a usual weak spot.

• A current diagnosis. A named diagnosis such as lumbosacral strain, degenerative arthritis or a herniated disc, with the X-ray or MRI behind it, gives the examiner something concrete to rate and to link. If your imaging sits in private records, get it into the file.
• An injury or event in service. Service treatment records for a fall, a vehicle accident, a hard parachute landing or sick call visits for back pain. When the records are thin, statements from people who saw it help: buddy statements and your own personal statement describing when the pain started and how it has gone since.
• A medical link. An opinion that the back condition is at least as likely as not related to the in-service injury, with reasons. A strong opinion covers your symptom history since service and explains why aging, weight or a later job is not the better explanation. Nexus letters covers what the opinion needs.

There are two other routes. Arthritis is on VA's list of chronic diseases (38 CFR § 3.309(a)). If degenerative arthritis of the spine shows up to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year after separation, and you served 90 days or more of continuous active service (38 CFR § 3.307), VA presumes it is service connected, so an early post-service X-ray and exam can do the work a nexus opinion would. And if a service-connected knee or flat feet led to your back problems, you can claim the back as a secondary condition, covered below.

The back C&P exam

The back exam is where most ratings are set, so it pays to know what a complete report contains. The back DBQ guide walks through the questionnaire. Ask the examiner to record these findings.

• All six motions (forward flexion, extension, both lateral flexions and both rotations), with the point where pain begins, not only where motion stops.
• Pain on active and passive motion, in weight-bearing and nonweight-bearing, as § 4.59 and Correia call for.
• Motion after repeated use, and whether pain, weakness, fatigability or incoordination reduced it.
• Your flares: how often, how long, what triggers them and what you cannot do during one, with an estimate of the added loss, as Sharp requires.
• Any spasm, guarding, abnormal gait or abnormal spinal contour.
• A nerve check of both legs (strength, reflexes and sensation) and any bowel or bladder symptoms, so Note (1) ratings are not missed.
• For a herniated disc, any physician-prescribed bed rest in the past 12 months, with dates.

Bring what shows the pattern over time: physical therapy notes with measured range of motion, MRI and X-ray reports, sick leave records and statements from people who see your bad days. An evidence checklist for back claims finds the gaps, a symptom tracker log of your flares gives you specific answers, and C&P exam prep helps you describe your limits without minimizing or exaggerating.

Why VA denies back claims

Back claims fail, or get rated lower than the record supports, for a few repeat reasons. The Board section below shows how the Board ruled on these appeals and the reasons it gave.

No link to service. The records show a back condition now, but nothing ties it to service. The fix: get the in-service injury or treatment on the record and a medical opinion that connects the two with reasons.

The examiner blamed age, weight or a later job. A bare "age-related" conclusion leaves the in-service injury unaddressed. The fix: a private opinion that takes the in-service event, the symptom history and each competing explanation in turn.

The exam measured one bend. No repeated-use testing, no point where pain begins, no active and passive testing. The fix: ask for a new exam citing §§ 4.40, 4.45 and 4.59, DeLuca and Correia, and submit physical therapy measurements.

No flare-up estimate. The examiner wrote that flare loss cannot be estimated without seeing a flare. The fix: point to Sharp and give VA a written description of your flares.

Disc episodes not counted. The flares were real, but no physician prescribed bed rest. The fix: document future flares with the prescription, treatment and dates.

Nerve symptoms left out. Leg pain, numbness or weakness was mentioned but never rated. The fix: a nerve exam, nerve conduction or EMG testing if your doctor orders it, and a claim for radiculopathy.

Neck and low back lumped together. A claim for "back pain" gets decided for one region only. The fix: claim each segment by name.

Secondary claims built on a back condition

Under 38 CFR § 3.310, a condition caused by your service-connected back is service connected too and rated on its own. Radiculopathy is the largest of these claims: in the Board's 2021 to 2026 rulings, nerve conditions of the legs were claimed secondary to the lumbar spine more often than any other condition, followed by the knee and the hip. Leg radiculopathy is usually rated under the sciatic nerve code, DC 8520, from 10 percent for mild to 80 percent for complete paralysis, with each leg rated on its own, and sciatic nerve paralysis was the third most common service-connected disability in VA's fiscal year 2024 report. Radiculopathy covers the grades and the nerve exam.

Secondary conditions to the back covers every condition claimed from a service-connected back, which to file first and the Board's numbers for each pair, with pages for hip pain secondary to the back and sleep apnea secondary to the back. Aggravation counts too: a condition aggravated by the veteran's service-connected back, meaning it would be less severe but for the back (M21-1 V.ii.2.D), qualifies. VA rates the difference between the baseline and the current severity, and the baseline has to be shown by medical evidence, so the opinion should describe it. VA's current manual no longer considers natural progress in these claims, even though the text of § 3.310(b) still mentions it, and the worsening does not have to be permanent. An opinion that addresses only causation and not aggravation is inadequate (El-Amin v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 136 (2013)).

The back can also be the claimed condition. If a service-connected knee or flat feet changed how you walk and your back followed, see back pain secondary to a knee condition and back pain secondary to flat feet.

How back ratings combine

Ratings combine under 38 CFR § 4.25, not by addition. Take the larger rating first; the smaller takes its share of what remains; round the final value to the nearest 10, with 5 rounding up.

When both legs have radiculopathy, the bilateral factor in 38 CFR § 4.26 applies to the two leg ratings first: combine them, then add 10 percent of that value. The spine itself is not a paired limb, so the factor does not apply to the back rating.

Here is a worked example with the back at 40 percent and moderate radiculopathy in each leg at 20 percent.

• The legs: 20 and 20 combine to 36. Ten percent of 36 is 3.6, for 39.6, which counts as 40.
• The legs (40) and the back (40) combine to 64, which rounds to a 60 percent combined rating.
• Add a knee at 10 percent: 64 and 10 combine to 68, which rounds to 70 percent.

For a veteran with no dependents, that is the difference between $795.84 a month for the back alone and $1,808.45 at 70 percent.

The neck is rated separately

The neck uses the same formula with its own angles: normal cervical flexion is 45 degrees, and the neck has a 30 percent level the low back lacks. Under Note (6), the two are separate disabilities that combine under § 4.25 unless both have unfavorable ankylosis, so make sure your claim names each region. Cervical spine covers the neck in full.

Questions veterans ask about back pain

What is the average VA rating for back pain?

There is no single average to aim for, because your percentage follows your measurements, not your diagnosis. Without ankylosis or incapacitating episodes, the levels are 10, 20 and 40 percent, and leg radiculopathy is rated on top of the back.

What does 30 degrees of forward flexion look like?

VA treats 90 degrees as normal forward flexion of the low back, so 30 degrees means you can bend forward only a third of that range. A measurement of 32 rounds to 30 and supports 40 percent; 33 rounds to 35 and stays at 20.

What is the VA rating for a bulging disc?

A bulging disc without nerve root compression or irritation is rated under DC 5242 on the motion formula, at 10, 20 or 40 percent depending on your measurements. If a herniated disc compresses or irritates a nerve root, DC 5243 applies, and incapacitating episodes with prescribed bed rest can rate up to 60 percent.

Is upper back pain rated differently from lower back pain?

No. The thoracic spine (upper and mid back) and the lumbar spine (low back) are rated together as the thoracolumbar spine, on the same measurements. Only the neck is a separate segment.

Can I get 100 percent for my back?

From the spine formula alone, only with unfavorable ankylosis of the entire spine. A higher combined rating usually comes from separately rated nerve findings and secondary conditions, and TDIU explains the separate unemployability route.

Is sciatica rated separately from my back?

Yes. Note (1) to the spine formula says to rate objective nerve findings separately. Radiculopathy down a leg is usually rated under the sciatic nerve code, DC 8520, and each leg is rated on its own.

Bottom Line

Back ratings come down to one measurement taken in one exam: how far the spine bends forward, against thresholds of 85, 60 and 30 degrees, with no 30 percent level. Pain, repeated use and flare-ups can move that measurement into a higher level, but only when the exam records them, and DeLuca, Correia and Sharp set what a complete exam includes. Incapacitating episodes pay up to 60 percent only with physician-prescribed bed rest. The largest gains usually come from what Note (1) rates separately, especially leg radiculopathy. Same back, different record, different rating.

Related Conditions

Back claims often overlap with spinal stenosis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, herniated disc, radiculopathy, the knee, the hip and depression. If you are already rated for the back, run a gap analysis before deciding whether to pursue an increase, secondary conditions or both.

Methodology and Limitations

• Data source: Rating criteria are quoted from 38 CFR § 4.71a (the General Rating Formula for Diseases and Injuries of the Spine and the Formula for Rating Intervertebral Disc Syndrome Based on Incapacitating Episodes) as published in eCFR, retrieved October 6, 2026. Functional loss rules are from 38 CFR §§ 4.40, 4.45 and 4.59, DeLuca v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 202 (1995), Correia v. McDonald, 28 Vet. App. 158 (2016), and Sharp v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 26 (2017). Service connection rules are from 38 CFR §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 and 3.310 and M21-1 V.ii.2.D (change date May 1, 2026). Combined rating math follows 38 CFR §§ 4.25 and 4.26. Disability counts are from VA's fiscal year 2024 Annual Benefits Report. Research: Dahm KT and colleagues, "Advice to rest in bed versus advice to stay active for acute low-back pain and sciatica," Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2010 (PMID 20556780); Kuris EO and colleagues, "Evaluation and Management of Cauda Equina Syndrome," American Journal of Medicine, 2021 (PMID 34473966).
• Sample size: Board figures in this post come from Claim Raven's read of every Board decision from 2021 to 2026 that it holds: 511,036 decisions containing 1,378,030 rulings, including 84,138 Board rulings on lumbar spine conditions, 77,827 of them decided. Of the decided rulings, 17,909 were granted (23.0%), 20,867 denied (26.8%) and 39,051 remanded (50.2%). The read captures Board-level outcome rather than schedular tiers, so the 10%/20%/40% rating distribution discussed here is regulatory framework, not a coded tier breakdown.
• Classification approach: Rating tier definitions are drawn from the regulatory text. Patterns in C&P exam quality, evidence gaps, and Board language are based on Claim Raven's review of BVA decisions involving thoracolumbar and cervical spine claims.
• Limitations:
• Compensation figures are based on VA disability pay rates effective December 1, 2025 (the 2026 rates) for a veteran alone with no dependents. Family rates differ at 30% and above.
• The 1,611,188 figure counts ratings for lumbosacral or cervical strain (DC 5237), which includes neck strain. VA's report counts disabilities rather than veterans, and it lists degenerative arthritis of the spine (730,386) and intervertebral disc syndrome (493,788) separately.
• Correia was decided on knees. This page states its holding as the Court wrote it and does not claim the Court has applied it to every spine exam.
• Exam quality and secondary claim outcomes vary with the examiner and the medical evidence; the patterns described are tendencies, not universal practice.
• Selection bias note: BVA-level patterns reflect cases that appealed. Most back claims are resolved at the regional office and aren't in any BVA dataset.
• These observations reflect patterns from the regulatory text and BVA decisions. They are not predictions of individual outcomes.